Paul Finebaum Says NCAA Ruling on LSU Is Invitation for Schools to ‘Cheat Like Crazy’

One of college sports’ most prominent media personalities offered strong convictions that the NCAA's latest ruling sets a precedent for future cheating.

One of college sports’ most prominent media personalities offered strong convictions that the NCAA's failure to punish violators harshly enough will fail to deter programs from cheating in the future.

A recent ruling handed down by the NCAA’s Independent Resolution Panel against the LSU football and men’s basketball team placed both teams on probation for three years, in addition to other penalties. But for ESPN’s Paul Finebaum, that wasn’t enough.

“The message is clear. Cheat like crazy and don’t stop until you win. I never thought I would say that, but it’s the truth. It simply doesn’t matter anymore,” said Finebaum while appearing on the McElroy & Cubelic in the Morning on Jox 94.5 in Birmingham.

Former men’s basketball coach Will Wade received a 10-game suspension and a two-year show cause for his involvement in the program’s reported recruiting violations. He was cited in six out of eight total Level I violations handed down by the NCAA, and he now coaches at McNeese State.

“I am long past getting outraged and upset that someone like Will Wade gets away with whatever he got away with, or someone else,” Finebaum said. “Because if it doesn’t matter to the people who govern the sport, and by the way, that includes everyone who sits in on these meetings and on these management councils, then it’s certainly not going to bother me anymore,” 

The school’s football program also forced to vacate all 37 wins for the team from 2012 to ’15 under former coach Les Miles stemming from the improper benefits given to former Tigers offensive lineman Vadal Alexander.